photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Adrian Wisdom appears at a hearing on Aug. 7, 2024, in Douglas County District Court. Wisdom is charged with 15 counts of child sex crimes including two counts of rape of a girl who was under 13.

A Lawrence man charged with numerous child sex crimes waived his right to a preliminary hearing on Wednesday in an effort to continue negotiating a plea deal.

The man, Adrian Raye Wisdom, 28, has been charged in Douglas County District Court with two counts of rape, nine counts of sodomy and three counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child, all felonies. Most of the charges are filed as off-grid felonies involving a child under 13 years of age that could result in a life sentence if Wisdom is convicted. The charges relate to multiple incidents between 2017 and 2023.

Wisdom was scheduled on Wednesday for a preliminary hearing, at which Judge Stacey Donovan would have determined if there was probable cause to order Wisdom to stand trial.

Wisdom’s attorney, Michael Clarke, told the judge that as he walked into the courthouse he saw that the alleged victim was present for the hearing. He said he spoke with Wisdom, who said that he didn’t want to make the girl testify and that he wanted to keep his options open when negotiating a plea agreement with the state, though he wasn’t ready to accept the plea that had already been offered. The parties did not provide details about that offer on Wednesday.

District Attorney Suzanne Valdez said that she was ready to rescind that plea offer if the victim had to testify. She said that if the girl did testify that she would likely allege additional crimes, which the state could then charge. Valdez said she would continue to work with Clarke to resolve the case short of trial.

Donovan then scheduled Wisdom’s case for a status conference on Aug. 22. Wisdom is being held at the Douglas County jail on a $250,000 bond.